Which of the following best describes the origins of the Reformation?(1 point)
Responses
Martin Luther’s excommunication made large numbers of people unhappy with the Catholic Church.
Martin Luther’s excommunication made large numbers of people unhappy with the Catholic Church.
Martin Luther successfully built on more than a century of other scholars' ideas, causing more people to speak up and leave the Catholic Church.
Martin Luther successfully built on more than a century of other scholars' ideas, causing more people to speak up and leave the Catholic Church.
For the first time in the sixteenth century, scholars began to speak out about problems in the Catholic Church.
For the first time in the sixteenth century, scholars began to speak out about problems in the Catholic Church.
Erasmus of Rotterdam and Martin Luther teamed up to convince people to leave the Catholic Church.
The second response is the most accurate in summarizing the origins of the Reformation:
"Martin Luther successfully built on more than a century of other scholars' ideas, causing more people to speak up and leave the Catholic Church."
This statement acknowledges that the Reformation had intellectual roots that extended beyond Martin Luther's actions and that he built upon the work of prior critics of the Church. It reflects the continuity of intellectual and religious critique that contributed to the environment in which Luther operated, as well as the widespread discontent that led to the Reformation.
The idea that Luther worked with Erasmus to directly convince people to leave the Catholic Church is not accurate. Although Erasmus was critical of certain Church practices, he did not leave the Church himself and his relationship with Luther was complex and not a partnership aimed at creating a new church movement. Additionally, the idea that scholars began to speak out only in the sixteenth century overlooks earlier critics, and Luther's excommunication was not the sole cause of the Reformation but rather a significant event within it.